{"id":2762,"date":"2017-05-19T09:57:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/?p=2762"},"modified":"2019-05-08T12:16:09","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T17:16:09","slug":"genealogy-interview-three-ingredients-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/genealogy-interview-three-ingredients-success\/","title":{"rendered":"The Genealogy Interview and Three Ingredients to Success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most rewarding types of ancestry and family tree research is conducting the genealogy interview.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t added this to your task list, you\u2019re missing out. You\u2019re also in for some really nice surprises!<\/p>\n<p>These 3 tips below, will help make this experience a total success.<\/p>\n<h3>Choosing Who To Interview<\/h3>\n<p>Elderly relatives are a frequent and the most obvious choice. Also consider middle-aged relatives who may remember stories from those that have passed.<\/p>\n<p>Additional options are some of the more distant relatives that aren\u2019t often on your radar, in addition to elder family friends, previous neighbors or anyone that may have had a <a href=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/relationship-chart\/\">relationship<\/a> with the family that you\u2019re researching.<\/p>\n<p>For identifying these potential sources we can look to census records and birth, death and other public genealogy records. In these we\u2019ll find the names of individuals that lived nearby and others that were close enough to the family to be included as a witness, sponsor or godparent.<\/p>\n<p>What can make interviewing really fun is interviewing two people at once!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong> If you have a pair of elder siblings or cousins chatting, almost every time there will be a fragment of a memory brought up by one that the other remembers vividly but would never have thought about the event or story otherwise. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the \u201cremembering\u201d department you\u2019ll be impressed to discover how well they feed each other tidbits to collaborate on.<\/p>\n<h3>Prepare Open Ended Questions<\/h3>\n<p>Include\u00a0a number of open-ended questions that leaves the person being interviewed to ability to elaborate. Factual questions are really important, such as dates and names, etc.., but often you can gain as much value from open ended questions also.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no better way to shake the nuts and fruits out of the <a href=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/category\/family-tree-forms\/\">family tree<\/a> than by asking good open-ended questions. Here are some examples of good questions to ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How would you describe the type of person that a certain family member was?<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s your most vivid memory of a certain family happening or event?<\/li>\n<li>Why do you think a certain family event or choice or relationship dynamic happened or existed?<\/li>\n<li>Who were the \u201cout of touch\u201d relatives and cousins that you didn\u2019t see or hear about often, and why was that the case?<\/li>\n<li>What friends or acquaintances of the family were treated like family and why?<\/li>\n<li>Who was the oldest surviving relative that you remember from when you were young, and what do you remember about them?<\/li>\n<li>Who else would be useful for me to interview, and what would they be able to share with me?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2764\" src=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/genealogy-interview-small.jpg\" alt=\"genealogy interview tips\" width=\"321\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/genealogy-interview-small.jpg 321w, https:\/\/geneosity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/genealogy-interview-small-100x83.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/>Family stories can go hand-in-hand with genealogy and family tree research. If you do enough interviewing you\u2019ll learn the names of connected individuals you\u2019d never have considered or known about. Meanwhile you\u2019ll gain a feel for the lifestyle and disposition of ancestors in your line.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s absolutely no doubt that the blood and certain characteristics of these individuals are still present and flowing in your own blood. If you doubt this just ask a seasoned family historian about intriguing parallels in personality and physical attributes passed from one generation to the next, and the next.<\/p>\n<h3>Plan Your Documentation and Keep a Record<\/h3>\n<p>Family history discussions often fall off track and change subjects that aren\u2019t in line with the goal of the interview. Planning in advance the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rootsweb.ancestry.com\/~ohlths\/interview2.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">specific questions to ask<\/a>, and keeping careful notes as to the responses of these questions is important.<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have a way to record the interview, then download our free <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/genealogy-interview-form\/\">Genealogy Interview Form in Microsoft Word<\/a>.<\/strong> \u00a0This should get you started.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s wonderful to hear the stories and other details but we have to remain disciplined at the same time. You should plan your interview carefully and make note of exactly what information you\u2019re seeking ahead of time. Follow this list as a checklist that you fill in and continue to the next topic during the interview.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to collect the who, what, where, when, why, and how information carefully. Keep in mind that when you\u2019re collecting an oral history that you\u2019re observing what people can remember to the best of their ability. The interview may present some inconsistencies in data. Be careful not to absurdly correct the person you\u2019re interviewing. Just roll with it and be very respectful of them.<\/p>\n<p>When an elder family member is asked to do an interview this is taken as a compliment. In effect, they are the teacher and you are the student, or at least this is often the viewpoint of the person providing the interview. It\u2019s an honor for them to be asked to do this, so do your best to show the deep respect they are looking forward to.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t initiate an interview without a pointed goal as to what information you hope to attain. It can help to communicate in advance what the pertinent details you\u2019ll hope to learn about. If there\u2019s any preparation needed, you\u2019ll get far better results from previewing the goals of the interview ahead of time.<\/p>\n<p>It is also very important for you to be prepared! Make sure that you\u2019re as familiar as possible with the names and events that may make their way into the conversation. Be prepared that the contributor may reference someone as Jack instead of John, use nicknames and other indirect references also.<\/p>\n<p>For best results keep a list, worksheet and\/or other supporting documents necessary to collect and organize the data you\u2019ll be accumulating. Keep a notebook handy so that you can take notes continually. Interview discussions often \u201ccircle back\u201d to a previous topic. If you make note of the names mentioned and the byline of topics it will be easier to keep the conversation on track and prevent repeating items that were already mentioned for the sake of clarity.<\/p>\n<h3>Some Other Thoughts for a Successful Genealogy Interview<\/h3>\n<p>Please be respectful of the amount of time that you\u2019re asking the contributor to give you. \u00a0 That&#8217;s where your preparation can help.<\/p>\n<p>Interviewing for genealogy and family tree research is one of my favorite activities.\u00a0I try to keep an active list of people that I can and should interview, and try to do interviews with new people every few months. Interviews can provide insight and information you\u2019ll never find anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>If you keep good records and notes of interviews you\u2019ll really be providing future researchers with an invaluable resource and source of interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most rewarding types of ancestry and family tree research is conducting the genealogy interview. If you haven\u2019t added this to your task &#8230; <a title=\"The Genealogy Interview and Three Ingredients to Success\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/genealogy-interview-three-ingredients-success\/\" aria-label=\"More on The Genealogy Interview and Three Ingredients to Success\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":535,"featured_media":2763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[73],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Genealogy Interview and Three Ingredients to Success<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These three tips will help you get the most out 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